Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/07
By: Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, Aug. 7 (CNA) The Ministry of Labor said Friday it will relax restrictions on hiring foreign caregivers for elderly people with minor disabilities starting Saturday, a move it said will benefit 35,000 senior citizens.

The ministry said it will expand the criteria of those eligible to hire a foreign caregiver to anyone aged 85 or over who meets at least one variable addressed in the Barthel index, a scale used to measure the extent to which people can function independently in daily live.

As the health of elderly people can deteriorate quickly, leaving them more incapacitated in a relatively short period of time, the new measure can better protect them by making more manpower available to help them, the ministry said.

Under existing regulations, senior citizens over the age 80 must be diagnosed to be badly in need of home care and score below 60 on the Barthel Index to be entitled to hire a foreign caregiver.     [FULL  STORY]